Tebligat in English: An Official Turkish Notice Served on You

Tebligat means the official service of a document. A court, an enforcement office, the tax office or another public body sends it through the PTT (the post office), or electronically through e-Tebligat. The envelope is only the carrier: the document inside — a lawsuit, a payment order, a fine, a decision — has its own deadline, and that deadline starts on the day the tebligat counts as served.

Not at home? It still counts

• If nobody is home, or you refuse it, the postman leaves the document with the muhtar (the neighbourhood head) or the police and sticks a notice on your door. The date of that notice is the date of service.
• It also works at your registered address in the address system (MERNİS), even if you do not live there.
• If you are only away for a while and it is handed to someone in your household or a neighbour, it counts as served that day; if a notice was stuck on the door instead, it counts 15 days later.

So a foreigner who is out of Turkey for months can find that a deadline has already passed. Collect a document from the muhtar or the police as soon as you see a notice.

e-Tebligat

An electronic tebligat counts as served at the end of the 5th day after it reaches your e-address — whether you open it or not. Companies, lawyers and public bodies must have an e-address; a private person does not, but once you ask for one, you are bound by it. The tax office has its own e-notification system, which some taxpayers must use. Check e-notifications through e-Devlet or the PTT's system regularly.

Once you have the document, upload it in the chat and it is explained, with its own deadline. A lawyer can collect a tebligat on your behalf with a power of attorney and answer it in time — for a debt see debt matters.